The primary thing to remember about this pen is that it's pretty and it's cheap.
So anything else (good writing quality, etc.) is sort of a bonus. To that end, I
haven't really had problems with mine skipping a lot; good ink makes a
difference, also the tines needed to be spread just a bit. What I do take issue
with, however, is how after about three weeks of use, the gold band around the
middle has been tarnished. You might think a pen manufacturer would expect that
area to be frequently touched... It's an ugly gray now, and though I'm still
attached to my pen, I only wish that it had been better made. Could that be a
problem with my pen individually? Other reviewers should give feedback.

I own this pen in silver and have come to love it. What a great pen for the
price! I was initially surprised by the weight because it's rather light, but
now like that. It writes smoothly, no issues with skips. The design is very
attractive, and it gets a lot of compliments -- ironically, more than my other
more expensive FPS ever have. Given another review that mentions wear to the
gold plate, I also want to mention that the gold bands on mine show no wear.
After three months of regular use, it still looks like new.

Really nice pen with a shiny body. Nib is abit rough at start and feed has
problems at start but after its washed the feed works perfectly. I would
recomand anyone that's thinking of buying this pen should buy it without a
doubt. Design and nib are nicely made.

I was initially a bit skeptical about the quality of this pen after reading a
few negative reviews on Ohto's Fine series, which seems to have much the same
mechanism and construction. For the price, though, the F-Lapa left me pleasantly
surprised.

It's not spectacular, but it's by no means bad - Just an average,
performs-as-advertised elegant pen for a fantastic price. You could certainly do
a lot worse for yourself with a 15 dollar spending budget. The nib may be cheap,
and it may be "fake" gold (it's just plated) but at least it writes nicely and
smoothly. It's actually about as fine as my Sheaffer fine nibs. There are no
skipping or starting problems to speak of, and the pen taking standard
International Short cartridges is a plus. There are no seam lines on the
plasticwork, the shiny chrome finish is flawless, and all the parts fit together
nicely. My only real complaint is the somewhat tacky black lettering around the
base of the cap, which can't be removed without damaging the finish of the pen
(apparently it's silkscreened on).

For a lousy fifteen dollars you should be buying a five-and-ten special plastic
bodied knockoff brand pen, but instead you can get the thoroughly capable and
undoubtedly stylish F-Lapa.

This pen felt slightly hastily made. It writes thicker than I would like for a
fine nib. It writes thicker. It does have the nice feature of fitting a spare
ink cartridge in the top barrel. Didn't like using this regularly. Felt a
little awkward due to the slickness and weight distribution. The ink flow also
bothered me considerably. Probably wouldn't buy again.

I own the silver version of this pen and it writes surprinsingly well although
it is certainly a very basic fountain pen. For fifteen bucks, it does the job
and the cap and barrel's fit and finish are good.
Please note that on many OHTO fountain pens, the steel "iridium point Germany"
nib is actually made in China and quality control isn't the best. Just because
it says "Germany" does not mean that it is "Made in Germany." This fact has been
documented by the famous pen repair and nib expert Richard Binder in a recent
issue of Stylus magazine. Also, no one uses pure iridium anymore. It is way too
rare and expensive. It must come from outer space (meteors/asteroids) and, if
you do have an iridium tip on a vintage fountain pen--even an iridium-alloy--you
are writing with stardust. Cool!
I wish the Chinese would just put "made in China" and be done with it. For
goodness sake, China was the birthplace of paper and numerous other great
inventions and ideas. I have deep respect for the Chinese man-on-the-street (the
government has point-of-departure issues), and they have every right to be proud
of their heritage. Unfortunately, a few bad products have gotten scores of
others to be branded as cheap and inferior. Granted, although the OHTO nibs are
sometimes poorly adjusted because of quality control issues, many Chinese
manufactured nibs and fountain pens work well (the famous Hero, for example).
remeber to journal. It's good for you. Thanks JetPens!

Writes beautifully without skipping. Even if I put it down for a few minutes it
starts writing again immediately without having to force it to work, a problem I
experienced with the Ohto fine. The quality and feel doesn't stand up to the
ohto fine, but I'll take performance over looks any day.

It writes lovely, but it is a pain to clean. This was my 4th fountian pen, so
I'm not perfect. Still, I found that it was a royal pain to clean. Very hard to
the ink regulator and nib off. But, it looks great! I would recommend it.

Terrible for $15. Absolute JUNK. The writing performance was scratchy at best
and felt like rubbing a stick against gravel. Scritch scratch scritch scratch.
This cannot compare to my TWSBI Diamond 530, My Lamy Safari/Al-Star, my Lamy
2000, MB 149, Pilot VP, Sheaffer PFM, Parker Sonnet, etc. in terms of... well
everything. The pen feels cheap as the build construction and threading for
barrel are plastic-y. It is easily dented and damaged and basically I expected a
bit more for $15. You might think that the pens I compare it to are $40+/$120+
but at least they work it out for their price points in trim, looks, feel, and
writing performance. I'd rather take a Pilot Varsity or some other disposable
than this pile of pure crap. I have lost all my faith in Ohto.